


Always read the fine print

by kkool



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/F, Femslash, Femslash Big Bang Monthly Challenge, Pre-Slash, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-06-05
Packaged: 2018-07-12 09:44:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7097410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kkool/pseuds/kkool
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint refuses to shoot Natasha. Natasha takes a chance on SHIELD. Maria should have known that Fury promoting her came with some hidden land mines.<br/>Or Nat and Maria have their first op together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Always read the fine print

**Author's Note:**

> For the Femslash Big Bang - Monthly challenge.   
> A little late but better than never :)  
> Prompt - Heroes and Villains

Maria marched down SHIELD’s corridor scattering the agents in front of her like Moses parting the Red sea. She didn’t stop to check in with Fury’s secretary and instead barged into the Director’s office, slamming the door behind her. Outward displays emotion where junior agents might see wasn’t her usual style and she could tell even Fury was intimidated by the display though he took great care to keep his movements unaffected.  
“Yes, Hill?” he asked trying for chilly but polite. It came out worried but amused.  
“Why am I being saddled with your pet Russian assassin?” Maria asked in clipped tones.  
“I have no idea what you mean? This is a very important mission that could have dire consequences for our country and our government and this world and…”  
“It’s a milk run, Sir. I thought the entire benefit of me getting promoted meant I didn’t have to deal with the newbies.”  
Fury lost some of his meanderingly amused tone. “Well then you should have read the fine print Agent Hill. He took a deep breath before actually dignifying the matter with an explanation. “With her skills she doesn’t need a handler but I can’t exactly let her roam free with a pat on her back and all of SHIELD’s secrets in her head.”   
“You need me there in case she goes rogue and we need to put her down,” Hill finished the thought for him.   
“Exactly”, said Fury with a satisfied smirk. “So put on your big girl panties and deal with it.”  
“Sir, I’ll do the job. Just so long as you never, never utter that phrase again.”

 

Maria had heard enough of about SHIELD’s newest recruit to know that she’d been spending most of her probationary period sparring with Clint Barton as he served out his suspension for basically going rogue, bringing her in and breaking most of Budapest in the process. So she headed down to the gyms on SHIELD’s second floor so she could give Natasha the news of the op herself. Maria had found that personally checking on each of the agents under her command face to face allowed her to figure out which agents she could trust and which ones would cut and run under pressure. True to rumor, Maria found Barton and Romanoff in the gym. Despite her bad mood, she couldn’t help stopping to appreciate the fluid beauty of their movements. They didn’t seem to be employing any recognizable martial art techniques and to Maria it looked like a cross between a boxing match and a ballet recital. The Black Widow in action was lithe and deadly and moved like she was in the middle of a choreographed dance. With a sudden move, that surprised both Hill and Barton, she swung her torso around her partner, wrapped her legs around his neck and squeezed. Hill tensed for a moment, afraid she would have to intervene, but Romanoff let go a second later. From Barton’s amused laugh this was not the first time this had happened.   
Maria waited until the two of them had cooled down before walking down towards the sparring mats. She was sure that they had already spotted her the minute she’d walked into the room and their unruffled expressions confirmed it. As she approached them however, they dropped their nonchalance and showed open curiosity.   
“Agent Romanoff. We have a mission. Briefing at 0800 hours tomorrow, conference room A9.”  
“We?” the Black Widow drawled, a slightly mocking smirk on her face now. “I wasn’t aware that you were on babysitting duty Agent Hill.”  
Maria just barely managed to keep the scowl of her face. “I guess Fury isn’t quite ready to buy your heroic transformation.”   
Natasha didn’t take the bait but Clint started edging away from the both of them.  
“Okay….. I’m heading off to find Phil I’ll see you when you get back Nat. Assuming we’re all alive of course. Ciao!” 

 

It was way past lunch when the briefing eventually wrapped up and Maria’s stomach was viciously protesting the time and the measly granola bar Maria had scarfed down in lieu of breakfast. Knowing Phil would have saved her some food from SHIELD’s cafeterias she headed down to his office. 10 minutes later, armed with a sandwich and a cookie, she was finally free to vent about the latest addition to her team.   
“She’s absolutely infuriating. It would be easier if I had to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon while hopping on one foot, naked and having a bucket of ice dropped on my head.”  
“Okay first off – that sounds like it would make a great Youtube challenge. Secondly Agent Sacks mentioned that you made some changes to the mission specs based in her suggestions. Sounds like she was helpful.”  
“Agent Sacks is an asshole who is going to find himself suddenly reassigned to Antarctica”, said Maria viciously, as she took a bite of her sandwich. “Why am I heading this op instead of you anyway? I thought Fury was going to place her on your team.”   
“Cause you’re Fury’s second in command and he trusts you. Also because he isn’t too happy with me backing Clint’s play on this one. Thinks I’m too compromised to deal with this effectively.”  
“Puhlease, Maria scoffed. Here half of SHIELD is actually convinced that efficiency is your middle name. At least, now if this op blows up in our face I can tell the Director I told you so.”  
“Yes. Because he loves hearing that.” Phil said, rolling his eyes. 

 

It had been 7 hours since Maria had been stuck in this surveillance van. Seven hours, thirty two minutes and 47 seconds according to the recording device on her monitors.  
“Tell me again why we need two agents to stare at a blinking light all night?” asked Agent Sitwell, who seemed to be passing the time knitting a large red sweater. “Half these jobs can be done by programming electronical devices. We’re completely superfluous!”  
“Yeah, yeah. And AIs are going to take over the world.” Maria mumbled in passing as she adjusted the volume on this listening device. Right now it was just picking up the background hum from the party and she couldn’t really discern any of the actual words being spoken. Hopefully the transmission would be clearer when the bug made its way into the pocket of one US Senator and his wife, currently being watched by Agent Romanoff.   
“How much longer do I need to wait before I can plant the bug?” came an annoyed voice from Maria’s earpiece. Sitwell had clearly heard it too but seemed content to let Maria be the one to deal with an impatient Black Widow.   
“We’ve gone over this Agent Romanoff. We’re waiting to see if they make contact with their liaison to the smuggling ring. Once we’re sure no one else is coming you can plant the bug.”  
Romanoff didn’t complain further but an exasperated huff betrayed how annoyed she was still feeling.   
Over the last few days Romanoff had been the first agent at every briefing contributing her thoughts to the planning process. Her suggestions had been intelligent and useful. This was especially frustrating since Maria kept wanting to pick a fight with her. She wasn’t sure what it was about Agent Romanoff that left her unsettled but every interaction between them left Maria a jumble of emotions. She seemed genuinely repentant and never challenged Maria’s authority but she was also trained to manipulate people’s emotions so her actions probably shouldn’t be taken at face value. Probably.   
Maria refocused her attention on the screen where Agent Romanoff was now casually flirting with the Senator. With her curly red hair and a long black gown, she was the most stunning person in the room and the Senator was putty in her capable hands. He definitely didn’t seem to be waiting on anyone so Maria gave the order. She watched as Natasha smoothly planted the bug into his briefcase and waited for Sitwell to confirm the transmission before instructing all agents to wrap up the op. Not a moment to soon honestly, she was definitely tired of watching rich white men in suits pretending they were important.  
“Are you okay?”  
It took Maria a second to realize that the words weren’t spoken to her but to the Senator’s wife.  
“You seem a little pale. Can I get you anything?” Natasha continued.   
“Oh no thank you. I’m fine” his wife replied. She abruptly stood up and strode away from the ballroom where the party was being held.   
Seeing Romanoff start to go after her, Maria rushed to pick her com. “Do not follow. Repeat… All agents… do not follow after the Senator’s wife. Our intel suggests she’s in on the smuggling and we can’t afford to tip her off.”  
Natasha stayed where she was but continued to stare after Megan Wilde as she exited the room. Ten minutes later the Senator followed.  
“I’m going after them” Agent Romanoff announced.  
“Fine. Follow at a safe distance and do not engage. They might be meeting one of the members of the smuggling ring.”  
“I don’t think so. Megan was worried and trying to avoid her husband seeing her leaving and the Senator looked angry when he followed her.”  
Natasha was running now, making her way down the corridors trying to trace where the couple went. As she reached the end of the corridor on the floor below they could all hear raised voices coming from the next room.  
“Agent Romanoff wait for backup. I repeat do not go in by yourself. That’s an order.”  
Natasha either didn’t hear or didn’t care as she snuck into the room with arguing couple.   
“Who the hell where you calling before. Did you forget what I warned you would happen if you tried to anyone about the guns?” the Senator was yelling.  
His wife seemed terrified but stood her ground against his ire. “I’m done covering for you Victor. I’ve already told the FBI everything and I will be a witness for their case if needed. They should be here any moment now to take you away into custody. It’s over Vic. Please, just go quietly.”  
Her words only served to make him angrier. “Their case falls through with a witness who can testify against me. You can only talk to the FBI if you’re still alive you know.”  
Megan took a step backwards and glanced at the door, gauging how many steps to the exit. But before anything else could happen, Natasha attacked. 

 

It was more than 3 hours later that the commotion had finally died down. Maria had spent the last of her energy negotiating with the FBI head of operation and she didn’t think she could have managed to tie her own laces right now. That’s when she spotted Romanoff sitting cross legged on the curb. A part of Maria, the one that had just finished dealing with asshole FBI agents who made her want to shoot them, wanted to go up there and yell. Another part, the one that was busy admiring Romanoff’s long black dress and her way of managing to look classy while squatting in uncomfortable positions, wanted to stride up and kiss her senseless. Mostly, Maria wanted to walk up there and giver her hug. It was quite an unexpected feeling for her and she wasn’t quite sure how she should deal with it. A smarter person might have spent some time formulating a plan of act but Maria was tired and was done waiting.   
“Hey! Megan going to be okay?” she asked, settling down next to Natasha.   
“What. Oh yeah. I think so at least. Bullet went through and through.” Natasha seemed distracted as she replied.   
“Think she was telling the truth about him forcing her to keep her mouth shut about the smuggling?”  
A strange look passed over Natasha’s face. “I think she might be. She definitely seemed scared of him. But I might be wrong. Maybe she’s just another villain pretending to be a hero. Like me.”  
“That wasn’t what I meant.”  
“Yes it was. You don’t need to lie about it.”   
“I’m not lying. You’re a hero and I’m sorry for implying otherwise. Yes you disobeyed orders today but you saved that woman’s life. You did the right thing.”  
Natasha stared at her trying to separate the truth from the lie. And in that moment she was just Natasha – no mask, no walls. Maria tried to do the same, to let the truth of her words show on her face.   
“Thanks.”   
She waited a few moments before talking again. “I am sorry for messing up the op you know. I was worried he was going to lose control and kill her before back up got there and I…”  
“I told you. It was the right thing to do.” Maria paused trying to think of something appropriate to say. Being comforting was definitely not her strong suit. “It showed good instincts and quick thinking. SHIELD appreciates…” She paused in the middle of her sentence, realizing that what Natasha wanted at the moment wasn’t a performance report. “I trust you” she uttered, without hesitation. She was surprised to find that that was actually true. “I trust you in the field, I trust you to have my back and I do trust that you will do the right thing.”  
Natasha stared at her in shock, clearly not expecting the declaration. She stared at Maria like she could take read all of her secrets by just looking at her for long enough. Maria, fidgeting under the sharp gaze, was just about to invent an extremely important phone call that she just had to take now when Natasha spoke.   
“Want to have coffee with me when we get back to NY?”  
Maria gaped at her, sure she must have misunderstood. “Coffee like break room coffee while we debrief?” she asked, striving for some feeling of normality.  
There was a small smile struggling to show itself on Natasha’s face. “If you want; though I was thinking of the artisan bakery down the road.”  
Maria took a minute to try translate the words into something familiar and failed. “Okay… and I am only asking this because I don’t want there to be any confusion later on…. Are you asking me out on a date?”  
The smile won the struggle and Natasha’s usually blank face lit up with a shy grin. “I am. That is, unless, I read you wrong Agent Hill and then I am very sorry for being so forward.” The last part was added rather quickly as she lost some of her previous good cheer.  
“Maria.”  
“I’m sorry, what?”  
“If we’re going to be going on a date Natasha, Maria added a little flirty emphasis on the name, then I think we should be on a first name basis.   
The two women grinned at each other, ignoring the looks of full blown terror from all the Junior Agents surrounding them.

**Author's Note:**

> Would love some comments! Not Beta read.


End file.
